Yanks cool off, but travel south

We couldn't bring ourselves yesterday to post a recap of the afternoon game, a dismal home finale which was a make-up game where less than 30,000 attended. We've gotten so spoiled and used to writing about victories, good pitching, and great hitting, that we didn't know where to start.

What we don't know is whether or not the rules really decrease the injury risk. For the moment, though, let's assume they do. But by how much? One could measure Chamberlain's impact on the Yankees' postseason chances, given various workloads. But unless you know the injury risk -- 1 percent? 3 percent? 17 percent? -- it's almost impossible to make a data-based decision.

So Brian Cashman has to make what's essentially a "feel" decision. If the Yankees win the World Series this year and Chamberlain is healthy next year, Cashman will look like a genius. Anything else, and he'll get the blame. Which is why he makes nearly $2 million a year (which is, when you think about it, far, far less than he deserves).

The bigger story about Joba is that the Yanks will likely consider making him a relief pitcher permanently, sort of what the Mets did with Aaron Heilman. The trouble with that is Joba is so much better than Heilman ever was, wouldn't we want him to pitch more innings than just one or two every other day? As dominant as Joba has been in his current role, we'd prefer that he pitches 180 innings per season for the Yankees, not 70. Good relievers are easier to find than good starting pitchers.

Ken Davidoff urges the Yankees not to care so much about winning the division. Rest the players, he pleads. We're somewhere in between. There's a division title streak still at stake, and there has to be a sense of pride in the team in trying to defend it. But of course, as we mentioned yesterday, it's certainly not impossible to win a title as the wild card.